Lawson also denied citing the merger as an excuse for problems with the project, and that it told CareSource 37 other customers had problems with the LTM-S3 integration.

The vendor is seeking $335,000 it says it is still owed by CareSource.

Overall, the legal flap appears to be a case of "mismatched expectations" between the software vendor and its customer, a dynamic that has marked other disputed projects of late, said Michael Krigsman, CEO of Asuret, a consulting firm that helps companies run successful IT projects. ""We have to ask the question of why the expectations are so far apart. Where was the adult supervision early in the project?"

"No vendor wants to be in this situation any more than the customer does, and therefore the likelihood of pure misrepresentation seems lower than the possibility of substantial misunderstandings between the parties," he added.

Customers should also be sure to determine whether they are considered early adopters of a software product, according to analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research.